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June 19, 2017

July 25, 2017 10:53

Alliance2015 to Support Flood-Affected Families in Ratnapura District

Alliance2015 flood support in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, 20 July 2017 - Alliance2015 partners in Sri Lanka (ACTED, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation and People in Need) are launching a three-month emergency relief and recovery project funded by the Emergency Fund of Alliance2015 in Ratnapura District to support early recovery of the most vulnerable families and help them to return to their normal lives after houses and infrastructures have been destroyed by floods and landslides.

The last monsoon rains caused massive floods and landslides in the Southern part of Sri Lanka, and left 565,000 affected individuals and 9,000 severely damaged or destroyed houses. In response, the Alliance2015 consortium will provide 700 affected families in Kalawana and Elapatha divisions with an additional source of income to help them cover their basic needs such as food, water and hygiene, or replace essential household items lost in the floods and landslides. Alliance2015 consortium will also support 200 vulnerable households, including women-headed families, elderly or disabled people, with unconditional cash grants, while 500 beneficiaries have been mobilised to repair roads, footpaths and water pipes, to clean wells and to clear debris through cash-for-work under the direction of community-based organisations.

As such, the project will help direct beneficiaries in covering their basic needs and recovering their normal lives, while the population of the target Grama Niladhari (local administrative subunits of divisional secretariats) will also benefit from rehabilitated public infrastructures. The cleaning of wells will also enable affected communities to recover access to direly needed clean and safe water.

“Along with clean water, cash is an immediate priority for vulnerable families in the aftermath of the floods, as many have lost their livelihoods and are currently unemployed. Through this cash transfer programme, our approach is to help affected families to find solutions that are adapted to their own individual needs,” said Nalinda Karunarathna, Consortium Project Manager.